


There's No Avoiding An Alvarez

by WittyWallflower



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Schneider falls off the wagon again, Sexual Tension, i know. i'm sorry., it wont become a theme its just a catalyst for the plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 15:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17831276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WittyWallflower/pseuds/WittyWallflower
Summary: If they want to see you, you're gonna get seen.An intense moment between Penelope and Schneider during his relapse changes the dynamic between them.





	1. Chapter 1

Penelope Alvarez ran through her pre-evening-out checklist. _Phone? Wallet? Keys?_ Check, check, check. _Cash in case she got a cab?_ Check. _Breath mints in case she got a kiss?_ Check. _Lipstick applied and in the purse for later?_ Check  
  
She paused to glance in the mirror on the door, swiping a finger at an imagined imperfection in her makeup. Fluffing out her curls, she stepped back to take in more of her reflection.   
  
_Girls front and center, standing at attention?_ She gave her cleavage a sassy little jiggle. _Check and check._

Penelope was feeling sexy, confident, and ready to break a heart or two tonight. It was time to leave  
  
But she was slowed down by the deadbolt being stubborn again, fighting her when she tried to lock the apartment behind her. May as well let Schneider know before she headed out.

 

* * *

  
  
  
She’d figured she would just pop her head in the door, say hi, ask him to take a look. He wasn’t in the living room so she called out for him as she stepped inside. Penelope caught the faintest whiff of bourbon just as Schneider appeared, trying too hard to act nonchalant, calling her a bunch of his ridiculous nicknames. The booze smell was overpowered by the menthol tang of mouthwash when Schneider passed her to plop down on the sofa.   
  
For a moment she had a flashback to Victor, how he’d hear her coming down the hall after work and sprint for the bathroom to remove the evidence of a day’s worth of drinking before giving her a kiss hello.   
  
  
_Okay_ , Penelope took a deep breath. Every motherly instinct in her body wanted to yell and scold and punish. That’s what you did with your kids, that’s how they learned to do better. But this wasn’t one of her kids breaking curfew or mouthing off to her.   
  
This was an addict relapsing. Again. And a harangue from her was only going to make him feel worse. It certainly wasn’t going to make him any less drunk. She knew recovery was a process. That relapses happened and 8 years of sobriety didn’t mean it was any easier for him now. He needed her help, not her disappointment.   
  
More importantly, this was _Schneider_. He’d been through so much, got dealt a lot of _caca_ despite his privileged life, but still came out of it a good man. She didn’t want to be a source of pain. He didn’t need her help to feel bad. He did need her though.   
  
  
While Schneider was distracted by with some video game stuff, trying to fumble fresh batteries into a controller, she stepped away to make a couple calls. First to Schneider’s sponsor, then to her friend.  
  
“Hey, Jill? Yeah, I’m going to have to cancel tonight, I’m sorry.” Penelope screwed up her face in an expression of apology that she knew couldn’t be seen through the phone.  
  
 _“Girl…”_ Jill’s voice was full of annoyance.   
  
“I know, I know. I promise I’m not trying to blow your brother off, I do want to meet him. I just can’t make it tonight.” Penelope turned away from Schneider and lowered her voice further. “Look, a friend needs my help. Like _really_ needs my help… you get me?”  
  
There was a short pause while Jill figured out the subtext. She may not know any of the details, but she knew what it was like to have a crisis and need someone there. She couldn’t begrudge Penny for being a good support system.  
  
 _“All right, Alvarez, I get you. I’ll introduce you to Jeff next time he’s in town. Good luck with everything.”_  
  
“Thanks, girl. Bye.”   
  
With a quiet sigh, Penelope tucked her phone into her clutch and tossed it on the coffee table. It was followed by the short jacket that made her look young and trendy and badass but also had a tendency to pinch in the armpits. It had been kind of a waste to wrangle her _tetas_ into the uncomfortable strapless bra her halter top required; worth the effort for how amazing she would have looked on that blind date but it was definitely going to have to come off if she was going to spend all evening trying to sober Schneider up instead.   
  
She ran her hands through hair and tucked strands behind her ears, careful not to snag the sparkly bracelet on her wrist in her curls. Turning back to Schneider, she found him staring at her, intent but bemused.   
  
“What?” she asked.  
  
He stammered a non-response, gesturing at her vaguely. But she caught him glance at her chest, then squeeze his eyes shut and pointedly look away. _Claro que si._ At least he wasn’t a leering drunk.   
  
“I was going to go out with... some people. But they cancelled.” she added quickly. Schneider was more important that her social life but he would only feel guilt for interfering with her plans.   
  
Sober, he never would have fallen for it but drunk Schneider was more interested in Mario Kart. He insisted on playing it, ignoring her insistence that he should speak to his sponsor, maybe have some coffee, talk about what led him back to the bottle. But he refused. Said if she wasn’t going to play then she should just leave. Schneider trying to kick her out was not an experience she was used to. Unsure how to respond, she had agreed to play.   
  
He was immediately wreathed in drunk, dopey smiles, looking like a kid excited to play with his friend. Which she guessed her was. She wasn’t sure why he was so anxious to play, he was terrible at it. Like truly terrible. Her kids teased her for being bad, but she was always in the middle of the pack. Schneider kept coming in dead last. It wasn’t long before he got frustrated enough to give up. She may have helped it along by picking Rainbow Road three times in a row, but that definitely didn't excuse him throwing his controller aside and huffing like a petulant child about it. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Penelope knelt on the floor and retrieved the controller. If it was Alex throwing things around, she would take it away from him, say it was broken and hide it until he started to feel the loss of it. Her kids may not always get along but they did enjoy several games together. But it was Schneider’s stuff, so she set both controllers on top of the console and switched it off.

When she rose, there was a bottle in his hand.

“Schneider, what the hell?!” She was so surprised by its sudden appearance that she couldn’t hold her tongue.

For a second Schneider was surprised as well. Eight years was a long time to be sober and he was so out of practice at drinking that the bottle actually felt alien in his hand. Where had that even come from? Did he stash it behind a throw pillow? The one thing he used to be good at was drinking, but now it didn't make him interesting and fun, it just made him stupid and confused. Didn't this used to make him feel good?

He knew it was messed up but it hurt all the more knowing his addiction couldn’t even give him false comfort anymore.

His eyes turned bleak and he sagged in on himself. Gazing at the bottle in his hand, he shrugged despondently.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I’m just a loser.” She tried to interrupt but he continued. “Seven time failure of rehab. Nothing but an embarrassment to my father. Ruined the only good relationship i’ve had with a woman. Can’t even win a video game against a mom.”

She’d take issue with that but this really wasn’t the time. Besides, _Tio_ Overbite’s 5 year old daughter had whupped her butt at Angry Birds at the Ruiz baptism, so she didn't have much room to talk.  

“Schneider, c’mon, you’re not a loser-“

He shook his head in immediate denial, twisting open the bottle so he could drown her words with a drink.

“Hey, no! Schneider!”

Penelope had no idea how her short legs managed to clear the coffee table like that but she threw herself at him before he managed to take a swig. She didn’t really have time to think about whether or not was a good idea to try to wrestle the bottle away from him. She just reacted. Schneider was a lot stronger than her and had more reach, but his reactions were delayed and he wasn't used to Penelope getting physical with him so she was able to knock it out of his hands. By the time she did they were both out of breath, her hair was wildly askew, the alcohol had spilled, and she was sitting on him to pin him down. Eyes met for a moment as their chests heaved.

Which drew his attention to her neckline. Her shirt was barely containing her after their scuffle. She should fix it, she knew she should. But she was distracted by his hand that had ended up on her hip.

Then Schneider became aware of the brown liquid staining his expensive shirt. He surged up from the couch and she scrambled off his lap to get out of the way. Once on his feet, Schneider scrubbed ineffectually at the wet shirt with his hands, succeeding only in making them sticky and booze-scented. The bourbon had sloshed everywhere. He sighed in disgust.

“If you’ll excuse me, imma take a shower.” he said with a slight slur, not meeting her eye as he unbuttoned his pants to step out of them and hauled his rumpled shirt over his head. Schneider didn’t seem to notice his glasses had come off as well and were now wadded up with his inside-out shirt.

But on his way the the bathroom he kicked the bottle laying on the floor and stopped to pick it up. It made Penelope a little sick to see his slack face and somewhat vacant eyes light up for a moment when he realized he was holding a liquor bottle. When he realized it was empty, he slumped in disappointment and tossed the empty over his shoulder. Thankfully it landed gently on a cushion instead of shattering everywhere. In this state, he would forget he broke it and wouldn’t be able to see the glass on the floor until he stepped on it.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Penelope bit out. “I’ll make you some coffee while you’re at it and then we’ll wait for your sponsor. He’s out of town but swears he’s on his way back.”

“You called Nick?” Schneider scoffed and waved her off dismissively, which threw him off balance, sending him lurching into his desk.

 _I can’t leave him alone like this, he’ll fall in the tub and split his head open like a melón_ , Penelope thought.

“Come on, I’ll help you.” With an arm around his waist to steady him, she draped his arm over her shoulders and began to guide him. 

“You gonna join me and scrub my back?” He gave her a lopsided grin and waggled his eyebrows at her.

Penelope just rolled her eyes, shifting her grip on his waist and pulling him closer as he leaned against her. He was so tall she could barely support him but if he fell, she didn’t have the strength to drag his dead weight around. With a few bumps against the wall they made it into the bathroom. She propped him up against the sink while she pulled the shower curtain aside.

“Okay, you’re gonna get cleaned up, then you’re going to come to the kitchen and I’m going to make you some food that you are going to eat, you got that?” Penelope ordered briskly as she bent to start the water in the shower.

Schneider had some fancy waterfall shower-head installed. Of course. No one ever said she wasn't just a little petty. Penelope adjusted the water temperature to cold. _That might help sober him up a little_ , she justified internally.

She straightened to find Schneider staring myopically at her read end.

“Hey!” she snapped, tone sharp. “Eyes up!”

He grinned a little sheepishly but couldn’t keep his gaze from drifting. Like they used to when she first met him and that clueless white boy with frosted tips tried to make a pass at her. Sometimes Penelope forget all about that bobo she met back then. The Schneider she knew was nothing like that dumb kid. But she was starting to see the resemblance in Drunk Schneider.

She grabbed a towel and tossed it down on the lid of the toilet nearby because she didn’t trust him to operate even a towel bar in this state.

“Okay, Schneider, time to-“ her voice died away.

His eyes no longer vacant, Schneider was standing upright now. In fact he seemed rock steady, and he was looking at her in a way that was kind of... intense. Penelope had never seen Schneider look at her that way before.

Slowly, deliberately, like the whole world was in slow motion, he took a step towards her. His eyes roved up and down her body.

Another step and he caught his lower lip gently between his teeth.

The room began to feel steamy, despite the shower running cold. If she could have brought herself to move, she might have fanned her suddenly-flushed face with her hand. But she was frozen, waiting. She was no stranger to that kind of look coming from men. Coming from Schneider it should be weird and a little gross.

A racing heart and suddenly damp palms were normal signs of being weirded out, right?

“Schneider?” she queried uncertainly.

She didn’t realize she was stepping back, giving ground as he advanced, until her back hit the wall. She had been too busy noticing, but trying not to notice, the tall elegant physique of him. He may be a mess right now, but that weirdly-sexy-Schneider vibe was back in a big way. He wasn’t wearing his glasses again; wasn’t wearing anything except a pair of boxers, but she tried not to focus on that. She failed.

She had seen him without a shirt before. She shouldn’t be so affected by his near-nudity, or its nearness to her.

Penelope could no longer ignore the fact that Schneider was in great shape physically when he closed in to press that great physical shape against her. She gasped as he molded his body to hers. Her skin began to tingle where it touched his.

“Schneider.”

She pulled out her most authoritative, Don’t-Mess-With-Mom tone of voice before this got out of hand. But it didn’t seem to work on the man staring at her with desire in his eyes.

She put a hand on his chest to push him away but when he leaned down, his lips barely brushing her skin as he buried his face against her neck and inhaled the scent of her, her fingers instead curled into his chest hair. Penelope’s body lit up like a Christmas tree. Every hair stood on end and a warm rush swept through her. Schneider pressed his hands to the wall on either side of her head and while it hadn’t been all that long since the last time she was with a man… _Dios_ , did she ever want to lean into him. Smell the manliness of him, feel his rough beard rasp gently over her soft skin, slide her hands over his abs and his trim hips, fill her palms with that flat Caucasian excuse for an ass-

_Oookay, this was definitely getting out of hand._

And it was getting harder for her to think clearly. His hips shifted closer and she bit back a moan. She had to say something.

“Pat?”

That was not what she had intended to say, especially not in that breathy, almost needy whisper.

Schneider wasn’t expecting her to say that either. Hearing the name no one called him outside of AA made him freeze with his nose still in her hair. There was a long moment while his tipsy brain processed the situation he was in.

He was drunk.

He was pressed up against someone.

And that someone was...

“Pen?” he asked. Confused, unsure, a little horrified.

She cleared her throat to respond but could only manage a nod.

Schneider jumped back like he had been scalded and turned away. In the mirror his face was beet red; could have been the alcohol, the arousal, or the abject shame and embarrassment he was feeling. But Penelope didn’t notice. She was equally eager to eschew any eye contact as Schneider was to avoid looking in her general direction.

She fled the room, mumbling something incoherent about privacy and coffee and food and she knew not what else before he could stammer out an apology. The bathroom door rattled in its frame when she shut it behind her with a little too much force. It was echoed seconds later when the front door slammed as well.

Schneider heaved a sigh of deep self loathing, leaning his forehead against the wall. His fist followed it and he punched the wall viciously, repeatedly, while calling himself a moron, a jerk, what would an Alvarez say - a total _bobo_ … at least eight different kinds of awful. She would never forgive him. And she shouldn't. Eventually he did move to the shower so the cold water could rinse the tears from his face, but it couldn’t wash away his shame.


	3. Chapter 3

  
Schneider sat on his couch, hands clasped in front of him to still their tremor. Cold drops of water from his wet hair slithered down his neck. He’d been too distracted to towel off. Expecting to pass out after the shower, he was instead wide awake with his misery. And less drunk than he’d like to be. Ignoring the mess left by his poor choices, he just stared at the wall until a knock at the door made him tense.   
  
“Pat, man, it’s Nick.” Schneider’s sponsor called through the door. When there was no response, he stuck his head in. One look at Schneider's face and he stepped inside quickly to join him.

  
A tiny part of Schneider was relieved it wasn’t Penelope coming to confront him. He didn’t know how to face her. A bigger part of him felt like a jerk for wanting her to stay away.   
  
Nick sat besides him. He had to move the empty bourbon bottle from the cushion to make room. It was always rough to see an addict relapse, he always felt like there was more he should have done. There was a beat of silence; Nick dragged a hand over his jaw and sighed.   
  
“I let you down, I’m sorry. I should have been here.”  
  
Schneider shook his head. Nick was a good sponsor but he deserved to have his life, to be able to go out of town for a night without being called back to clean up Schneider’s mess. He didn't offer Nick any apologies, knowing his sponsor would only shoot them down.   
  
“It wouldn’t have mattered if you were. I wasn’t going to call." Schneider had to be honest with himself on that. "You wouldn’t even be here not it wasn’t for Penelope…”  
  
Saying her name reminded him of everything that happened with her. Schneider winced and put his head in his hands.  
  
Nick put a comforting hand on his back.   
  
“She’s a good friend for looking out for you. I’m glad i gave her my number in case she needed it. Where is she at, anyway?” Nick had been a little surprised she hadn’t met him at the door. She seemed like the mother hen type, ready to cluck around any poor chick in trouble.  
  
  
“I messed up, Nick. Bad.” Schneider groaned. It was a struggle to get the words out. “She was here, trying to help me get a shower after i spilled everywhere. I, I was drunk, I wasn’t thinking, I-…”   
  
Nick removed his hand. Whatever it was that Schneider couldn't bring himself to say, it was clearly bad. As a sponsor he was there to help, but he also would be the first to call the cops on someone who was a danger to others.  
  
“Did you hurt her?” Nick’s voice was stern.  
  
“No!” Schneider reared back. The denial was immediate, vehement. The idea of hurting Penelope was repulsive to Schneider, but he wasn’t sober, so could he really be sure? “I don’t think so, I… god, I hope not."  
  
Nick could see the despair in his eyes.   
  
“I made a pass at her. It got kinda physical. _Not_ violent though, I swear.” Schneider hastened to add. He swallowed. “I almost kissed her, almost… almost put my hands on her.”  
  
His gut twisted and Schneider fought off a moment of nausea. he knew it wasn’t the booze that made him want to throw up right now.    
  
“I almost _groped_ my best friend, Nick.”   
  
His voice cracked as he finished, muffled when he buried his face in his palms again, trying to hide from Nick, from the world, from himself. Nick rubbed his back as Schneider shed his tears.   
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Penelope didn’t realize she’d been expecting it until she heard the soft knock on the door.   
  
She’d been sitting on the couch, trying to convince herself to go back upstairs. She was ashamed for walking (more like running) out on Schneider like that. He needed her help and her own confusion wasn’t important right now. She had almost psyched herself up for it when she’d heard a car pulled up downstairs. With a peek out the window she recognized the SUV Nick had left the AA meeting in.   
  
She was ashamed of herself for being glad that someone else had stepped in to handle the problem.   
  
Penelope wasn’t sure why she tiptoed to the door now. Its not like she wasn’t going to answer it was Schneider. The relief of seeing Nick through the peephole instead just made her feel worse.   
  
“Hi,” her greeting quiet when she opened the door.  
  
She hadn’t bothered to change yet and for a long moment, Nick was taken aback by her appearance. Penelope had been pretty cute the first time Nick met her at the AA meeting, but now the fiery little woman was clearly dressed for a night on the town. She looked hot enough to scorch. He could begin to understand Schneider’s temptation, but none of that excused a damn thing about the other man's behavior towards her. Neither did the alcohol.   
  
“I just wanted to check in, make sure everything's okay.”  
  
She nodded, but she really wasn't worried about herself here.  
  
“Is _he?_ ”, she asked quietly.  
  
Nick tilted his head in a non-committal gesture. 'Okay' was a long way off for Pat right now, but he was in good hands.   
  
“He’s sleeping it off. I’m going to spend the next few nights, help him get back into his daily routine,” Nick said.  
  
Penelope nodded again. That’s good. It’s good that Schneider was going to have someone there with him.

 _Family is supposed to be there for him_ , the guilty voice inside her whispered.  
  
“I just need to run home,” Nick continued, "grab some clothes and pick up some supplies. Doesn’t look like he has much left for food or coffee.”  
  
“He eats most meals here with us. I wouldn’t worry about the coffee though. When my mothers hears about this, she’ll pouring enough of her _caf é cubano_ down his throat to drown him.” She tried for a weak smile. “Do you… need me to sit with him while you’re gone?”  
  
Nick rubbed the back of his neck. He hated to leave Pat on his own, but he wasn’t going to ask Penelope to do anything that might make her uncomfortable. He shook his head.  
  
“I’m not going to put you into a situation where you may not be safe. But if you could maybe keep an ear open? He should be out like a light and i searched the place for any hidden bottles, but give me a call if you hear him moving around upstairs. I wont be more than 10 minutes away.”  
  
Penelope nodded dumbly in agreement and Nick left in a hurry.   
  
Nick thought that she wouldn’t be safe? With _Schneider_? She had never felt unsafe when Schneider was around, and certainly never felt like he was a danger to her. Even tonight.

The only thing that had scared her was her own confusion.

 

* * *

  
  
  
Penelope let quietly let herself into Schneider’s apartment again. Yeah, Nick said she didn’t need to come. But really, she did. It only took a few minutes for her to break down and head upstairs.  
  
With the light from the living room to guide her steps, she crept silently into the bedroom to check on him. He was restless, his limbs twitching sporadically, his sleep troubled. She brushed a lock of hair from his face and noted his brow was furrowed in a deep frown. Even in sleep he couldn’t escape his demons.   
  
_Ay, Schneider_ , she thought, helpless in the face of his struggles.   
  
Making her way back to the living room, she paused to check a few hiding spots she wasn’t sure Nick knew about. Penelope hoped he would be honest with his sponsor about any booze stashed away, but he had lied to her about it the last time and she couldn't take the risk. Not with her best friend at stake.   
  
She could go home now. She had seen for herself Schneider was okay. Nick would be back soon. She wasn’t needed here right now  
  
Instead of leaving, Penelope tidied what she could. She scrubbed the alcohol out of the sofa, picked up Schneider's discard clothes, recycled the bottle she now hated the sight of. She found a soft cloth to clean the spots off his glasses and sneaked back into the bedroom to place them on his nightstand.   
  
Then she sat on the couch to wait. And think.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, _mami_?” Alex caught Penelope's attention over breakfast.  
  
“What’s up, _papito_?” she asked.  
  
“Um, is Schneider okay? After what happened?” He spoke reluctantly.  
  
Penelope smiled, a little sadly, but also with pride for the compassionate and mature man her son was becoming.  
  
“It’s just..” Alex said, before she could answer. “He hasn’t been over in like 3 days. The last time we didn’t see him for that long was when he went on that yoga retreat.”  
  
“Well, maybe he took another trip? You know Schneider, so impulsive.” Penelope cringed internally to be lying to her son like this. _But, i mean, its not impossible for him_ , her thoughts tried to rationalize.  
  
“No no” interjected Lydia as she joined then at the breakfast table with her coffee, “I see him yesterday. He is very busy with the super powers.”  
  
Elena chuckled at her abuelita’s explanation. “What she means is that as super, he is upgrading some of the fuse boxes for the power system, so the electricity doesn’t blow out when we try to use the hair dryer while Abuelita is ironing.”  
  
“You saw him too?” Alex asked his sister.  
  
She nodded as she took a sip of juice. “He sent me a text that he needed the wire cutters. They were on my tool-belt.” Cramming the last bite of toast in her mouth, Elena took her plate into the kitchen.  
  
Alex looked downcast. Penelope took his hand, her kind eyes encouraging him to speak his feelings.  
  
“Do you think he is mad at me for ratting him out?” Alex asked, for a moment looking like a little boy again.  
  
"Oh no, of course not, sweetie. First of all, you didn’t ‘rat him out’. Like you said, he didn’t need someone to keep his secret, he needed help. You got him help when he needed it the most. Trust me, that makes you one of the most important people in the world to him.”  
  
Penelope hooked an arm around Alex's shoulder and drew him close. He was so tall now, it was awkward to kiss the top of his head and more often than not it came with a face full of hair-gel. But her baby boy needed her reassurance.  
  
“I promise you, Alex. he isn’t mad. I think he is just trying to keep busy, to keep his mind off things, you know? Its a rough time for him.”  
  
He nodded. Alex didn’t really get it all, hadn’t understood it when it happened to his own papi, but he knew from Victor’s experience that none of it was the fault of the young boy watching it happen.  
  
“I thought maybe you might have told him to stay away from us.”  
  
“What? No, I wouldn’t do that!” Penelope paused at Alex’s somewhat dubious expression.  
  
Okay, so maybe its totally the kind of thing she would have done with someone she felt was unsafe to have around her kids. Over-protectiveness was a huge part of her parenting style. But this was Schneider they were talking about. He was more than just a friend, he had adopted himself into their family. Only Lydia could take better care of Alex and Elena. Even now Penelope didn't question his devotion to her children, their happiness and their safety.  
  
“Look,” she said, glancing up at the returning Elena to include her in the conversation, “There are a lot of people I would prefer you two to stay away from but Schneider isn’t one of them. And I wouldn’t keep him away from you. He is someone with an illness who needs treatment, okay? No different than your mami and her anti-depressants, or any of the people i help at work. He isn’t a bad guy; he isn’t dangerous. He is our friend, our friend has an addiction he needs help for. And we don’t judge people for that, do we?”  
  
The look she gave her children was pointed but she had raised them well. That compassion towards others, that tolerance and understanding, was already ingrained in their personalities. She knew her family would love and support Schneider through any difficulty he faced.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Penny really didn't want to confront Schneider, or her own feelings about what had sorta happened between them. But really, nothing had happened. He had barely touched her. Without his glasses he couldn't even see, right? She tried to convince herself that she had blown the whole thing out of proportion. She’d bet he didn’t even know who was with him at the time. Probably thought it was any one of the girls she saw him putting into Ubers in the mornings. Plus he was so drunk he probably didn't even remember any of it.  
  
But he was her friend, and having a rough time with his recovery. Penelope felt terrible for avoiding him and letting him avoid the family. She had abandoned her best friend during a relapse. The man who had never once turned her away during a 2am anxiety attack. 

Through the building’s grapevine she knew he was getting the landlord stuff done. Even fixing things that had been put off for ages. Elena was getting a little disgruntled she wasn’t being asked to lend her handyman, or handyperson, expertise. And she could hear him moving around upstairs sometimes, so she knew he was okay. Functioning, at least.   
  
Penelope knew had to see him, even if she wasn't sure what she was going to say. So she found herself outside his apartment.  
  
Hesitantly Penelope knocked and waited. She thought she heard his steps approach and she definitely saw a shadow in the gap beneath the door but it didn't open. After a long moment she knocked again. Then the shadow quietly disappeared with still no answer. He had ignored her presence.  
  
That got her Cuban up. She knew Schneider could see her through the peephole, and she knew that he knew that she knew that. Avoiding her passive aggressively was one thing (for the moment she ignored the fact that she had been avoiding him too), but intentionally blowing her off like that? That was something else, and she didn’t have to take it. Things wouldn't be awkward after all, cuz she was going to be too busy giving him a piece of her mind to feel weird about it.  
  
Penelope used her key to unlock the door. The security chain on the door stopped her.  
  
_Schneider **never** uses the chain_, she thought.

He rarely even locked the door in case a tenant had an emergency and needed his tools. Everyone in the building knew if he wasn't home, he was probably in the Alvarez apartment. But he had a lot of expensive stuff to be leaving his place open like that. He had never seemed concerned about it.  
  
It definitely wasn’t for security he had put the chain on.

It was to keep people out. To keep Penelope specifically out, since she knew her _mami_ and Elena had both been to see him.  
  
It was a rejection of her. By her best friend, and the most important man in her life after her son. The person she turned to when she was most vulnerable, the one who saw every ugly side of her, was shutting her out. Her annoyance disappeared, replace by a tight writhing ball in her gut and a shortness of breath. 

Any thought she’d had of yelling at him to let her in so she could yell at him properly was dropped in favor of fleeing before she had an anxiety attack in the hallway.

Once again she ran away from him, overwhelmed with emotional confusion. 


	5. Chapter 5

The family lived in denial a few more days.

During the dinner prep when Penelope turned to hand a bowl of food to Schneider, who was usually loitering in the kitchen door to chat and carry things to and from the table, Lydia pretended her daughter had always intended to hand the salad to _her_ rather than their missing friend.  
  
After the meal the kids pretended they had always been planning to play video games together. Even though Schneider liked Elena’s adventure puzzles more than Alex did, and didn’t object to the gory violence in Alex’s favorite games the way Elena did.  
  
Penelope pretended not to notice the looks the family cast at the empty chair that usually contained a scruffy ex-Canadian ready to argue that since he was the tallest he deserved the biggest portion of _ropa vieja_. She also pretended not to notice Lydia slipping out the door after dinner with a butter tub full of leftovers. They all pretended it was normal for Lydia to spend her evenings upstairs.  
  
Until Monday when Penelope asked Lydia to take the rent check up to Schneider with her. Lydia didn’t object to bringing Schneider his dinner. She had taken the bus out to El Segundo and Burbank to visit him during rehab stays, it was no trouble to go upstairs and listen to him compliment her cooking. But she did not approve of her daughter avoiding the man. Schneider was Penelope’s friend and more important he was _familia_. She would not allow this drama to divide her family anymore.  
  
Lydia looked at the check in Penelope’s hand, then looked her daughter straight in the eyes.  
  
“No.” she said, direct and to the point. Without explanation, she turned and left.  
  
Penelope didn’t need to be told why her _mami_ was stubbornly refusing. Lydia had tried to ask once or twice why Penelope wasn’t spending any time with her best friend but Penelope was evasive about it. Lydia tried to give Penelope space, but her daughter was just as stubborn as she was and sometimes a _mami_ had to put her foot down. The Alvarez family had never once been even a day late with the rent and Penelope wasn’t about to break that streak.  
  
But if Lydia thought she had forced Penelope’s hand, she was wrong. She sat with Schneider while he ate and after they played a spirited hour of dominoes. As Lydia went to return home, she noticed the rent check had been slipped under the door. She _tsk_ ed at such cowardice from her normally brave daughter. Penelope always asked after Schneider when Lydia returned from his apartment but today Lydia did not answer. She turned up her nose at Penelope, sweeping past her in silence and closing the curtains to her room as emphatically as one can ‘slam’ a piece of fabric.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Penelope couldn’t brush it off. She knew Lydia liked to be dramatic, but her _mami_ ’s unspoken censure wasn’t wrong. Lydia shouldn't be the only one being an adult about it. Penelope had to stop avoiding the issue, and her best friend, or things could never get back to normal. The entire apartment had felt slightly… off this week. Like something was missing. And that something was Schneider’s near-constant presence.  
  
The whole family missed him. Penelope sure did. The odd comments about his life… totally out of touch with their experiences yet still strangely helpful; if nothing else they told her what _not_ to do. The jokes that helped lighten even the tensest moments. He'd made so many serious situations a little easier to handle with a bit of humor. That unwavering sympathy and support. That admiring smile.  
  
Her guilt kept her awake. Penelope tossed and turned in bed, trying to pretend she wasn’t listening for a sign that Schneider was also still awake at 11:30. Before that night in his bathroom, she had no problem waking him up at 2 am. But now that she wasn’t sure of her reception, she was too scared of another silent rejection to approach his door. It was pretty clear by now, a week later, that he wasn’t going to be approaching hers.  
  
If they were ever going to get back to where they were, she was going to have to force a confrontation.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
A knock at his door woke Schneider at nearly midnight. He’d been dozing on the couch in front of the TV, belly full and replete with Lydia’s leftovers. She always brought more than he could comfortably eat but Schneider was so thankful he didn’t have to give up her cooking that he finished it all. And usually fell into a food coma as soon as she left. At least it beat spending the evening trying to stay busy so he didn't overthink, or crave a drink.  
  
He slid his glasses on and approached the door with caution in case it was Penelope. He kept the chain on all the time now so she couldn’t surprise him and he didn't even understand why. If either of them should be barring the door between them it was _her_. But she hadn't. Penelope had come to him that day. Maybe she had come to forgive him; maybe she had come to murder him. Schneider didn't know because he hadn't had the courage to open the door. And she hadn't tried again after finding herself locked out that first time.

The other residents seemed a little confused by the change to his usual open-door policy but they hadn’t said anything. At least not to him. He tried to keep the rumors down by acting like his usual self. Even those who hasn’t heard about the relapse would be concerned by a Schneider who was subdued and not his usual social self. His extroverted personality felt forced and insincere now, but he was trying so hard to seem normal that no one had the heart to call him out on it. So instead of letting themselves into his apartment when they needed help or just wanted a chat, now they knocked. And now Schneider always checked to see who was at the door before he opened it.  
  
Schneider swiped the sleep from his eyes and squinted through the peephole. He saw Elena standing outside, hair disheveled from sleep and her pajamas rumpled. As he watched she yawned hugely and knocked again.  
  
It was the middle of the night and he could only assume it was an emergency that brought her over so late. His heart began to pound as his mind created a pessimistic list of every awful thing that could have happened in the Alvarez household.  
  
“Elena?” He threw open the door. “What’s wrong? It’s not Lydia-“  
  
He cut off when Penelope stepped out to join her daughter. Standing against the wall to the side of his door-frame, she hadn’t been visible through the peephole. Penelope gave Elena a kiss on the temple and patted her shoulder.  
  
“Thank you, baby. Go back to bed.”  
  
Elena answered with another yawn and a sleepy nod, shuffling off down the hall in her slippers. Her eyes drooped closed and she bumped the wall as she rounded the corner. Penelope doubted Elena would even remember any of this in the morning.

  
  
Penelope made an attempt at a smile. Both uncomfortable, neither sure what to say, they stood in the doorway each with their arms crossed, silent for a long moment.  
  
“You dragged her out of bed for this?” Schneider finally asked, for lack of anything better to say.  
  
She shrugged.  
  
“Figured you wouldn’t open the door otherwise.”  
  
_Well, she wasn’t wrong about that_ , Schneider thought. And how messed up was it for that to be the case? For two best friends to bend over backwards to avoid each other. They hadn't even had a fight about it. With a sigh he turned and made for the couch, leaving the door open behind him. Not exactly a spoken invitation to come in, but he hadn’t sent her away or closed the door in her face.  
  
But he also hadn’t denied it. Schneider who used to let Penelope in any time of the night, whether he had a ‘guest’ over or not, hadn’t rushed to reassure her that she was always welcome. She didn’t know her place in his life right now and it shook her. Instead of curling up next to him on the couch where they’d spent any number of evenings together in states of anxiety or relaxation, she remained standing, her hands shoved deep in the pockets of her pajama pants.  
  
“Alex has been asking about you,” she said. They really needed to discuss the issue between them but avoidance was easier, wasn’t it?  
  
Schneider sat forward, propping his elbows on his knees and dropping his head into his hands. He didn’t know how to face Alex. He wasn’t sure if he could handle looking into Alex’s eyes knowing the young boy might still see that drunken mess in the laundry room, instead of the man Schneider tried to be, and really wished he was.  
  
“Does he hate me now?” He didn't really want to ask because he feared the answer.  
  
Penelope sighed and finally sat down next to Schneider. She didn’t realize she had put a comforting hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles in an instinctive reaction to seeing her friend upset, until she felt him stiffen at her touch. She removed her hand but didn’t move away.  
  
“He’s worried you hate him.” She said.  
  
“What?” Schneider’s head shot up. “Why would he think that? Did you tell him that to keep him away from me?”  
  
Stunned to be accused a second time of keeping him away, Penelope was thinking her reputation of being a hard-ass was not doing her any favors here.  
  
Schneider fidgeted when she didn’t immediately respond and stood to pace his living room in quick, agitated strides.  
  
“That’s a low blow, Pen. You know I love your kids more than anything-“  
  
“Schneider.” She tried to interrupt but couldn’t get a word in edgewise.  
  
“I know I am a crappy role model but I would never hurt your kids-“ He was ranting now.  
  
“Schneider.”  
  
He continued to ignore her.  
  
“I figured you wouldn’t want me around them so I haven’t been coming over and I gotta tell you, its hell not getting to hang out with them everyday. But its _so_ much harder knowing you told Alex I ha-“  
  
Penelope lost her patience. Crossing to him, she grabbed his face between her hands and forced him to stop.  
  
“Schneider!!” She practically had to yell to get his attention, get him to focus on her. The loud voice seemed to get through to him. He looked doubtful but he had stopped pacing at least.  
  
His eyes met hers fully for the first time since she had arrived.  
  
“I didn’t!” She insisted. “I didn’t say you hate anyone. I didn’t say you couldn’t see the kids. I didn’t ban you from my apartment, okay?!”  
  
A breath he hadn’t realized he was holding whooshed out of him. His shoulder sagged and he broke her gaze.  
  
She hadn’t been this close to him since that night. Hadn’t had her hands on him so intimately even then. But she didn’t think about that right now. She could tell he was hurting, that he was scared. So she didn’t think at all. Just wrapped her arms around him and drew him into a tight hug.  
  
“I told you. The trust doesn’t go away.” Her voice was low but firm. He couldn’t doubt her sincerity. “You don’t have to hide, you don’t have to avoid us.”  
  
She couldn’t read his face when she looked up at him. Penelope realized how much she missed seeing his smile.  
  
“Obviously you can’t avoid me even if you wanted to.” She nodded towards the door she had just tricked him into opening for her. “There’s no avoiding an Alvarez, Schneider. If they want to see you, you’re gonna get seen.”  
  
It was a long moment before he reacted but eventually he did, curling in on himself and accepting her hug which felt as warm and comforting as it ever had. It had only been a week; how had he come to miss her hugs so desperately? Schneider heaved a sigh heavy with relief instead of pain this time. He freed his arms so he could return her hug. With his chin resting among her curls, he closed his eyes in a silent prayer of gratitude that he hadn’t lost everything that was important to him after all.

"I didn't think you'd want to see me." He whispered. She answered by hugging him more fiercely and Schneider wanted to cry.  
  
With her cheek pressed to his chest, wrapped tight in his embrace, Penelope smiled because it felt so good to have him back in her life, so right, so natural to be there with him. It had been right for so long, she hadn’t realize just how wrong her life could feel without him until now. The scent of his cologne on his shirt reminded her of what had happened. Why she had spent those days without him. It threw her for a loop, realizing how much she had also missed having him in her arms.

  
They really needed to discuss the issue between them but they were still mending the friendship, weren't they?

Now really was not the time to get into what had almost happened between them.  
  
And she still didn’t know what to feel, let alone say, about it.


End file.
